Fans of *Dancing with the Stars* were outraged after a contestant performed a cha-cha while wearing a sparkling ankle monitor.
The contestant, Anna Sorokin, better known as Anna Delvey, gained fame for posing as a wealthy heiress and scamming socialites, banks, and hotels. Her story inspired the Netflix series *Inventing Anna*. After serving time for grand larceny, Sorokin is now under house arrest for overstaying her visa, which explains the ankle monitor.
Despite the backlash, Sorokin defended herself, saying, “I’ve reinvented myself many times, and now I’m a ballroom dancer.” She performed alongside professional dancer Ezra Sosa, who admitted skepticism about her dance background.
While the judges were surprisingly impressed—Derek Hough noted her potential, and Bruno Tonioli said, “Reinventing Anna again! It could work!”—fans were less forgiving.
Social media was filled with criticism, with some saying felons shouldn’t get the spotlight. Others were frustrated that the show would feature someone with a criminal past, with one commenter stating, “Dancers should be role models.”
The decision to feature Sorokin has left many questioning the show’s values.
Here is the video:
